A downloadable TIFF image of the 1:15,000 scale SB222 soil map - Soils of the Bannockburn Valley, South Island, New Zealand by FG Beecroft. A full resolution PDF version is also available in the attachments section.

Note this is a more detailed soil map than the Grow Otago soils maps, but uses the old Genetic Soil Classification - soil naming conventions used in this map and the attached report may differ from those found in newer soils maps and databases.

The database was constructed containing attributes relating to land use for each map unit and three land use interpretations generated: horticultural versatility, land use capability and urban suitability.

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains depth to slowly permeable horizon attributes. Depth to a slowly permeable horizon describes the minimum and maximum depths (in metres) to a horizon in which the permeability is less than 4mm/hr as measured by techniques outlined in Griffiths (1985). If no slowly permeable horizon is observed, the taxon is allocated to Class 6 and a null value with numeric code -.99 is entered into the data fields. These classes, described more fully in Webb and Wilson (1995).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains the particle size classification attribute. Particle size class describes in broad terms the proportions of sand, silt and clay in the fine earth fraction of the soil except in the case of skeletal soils ( > 35% coarse fraction ) where it applies to the whole soil. The classes are described in Webb and Wilson (1995) and the user should also refer to the item grav_class for a description of the topsoil gravel content of soils. For the 2nd Edition Gisborne-East Coast mapping, particle size is recorded as undefined as soils were mapped directly to the New Zealand Soil Classification.

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layers contains the permeability profile attribute. Permeability is the rate that water moves through saturated soil. The permeability of a soil profile is related to potential rooting depth, depth to a slowly permeable horizon and internal soil drainage. Permeablity classes are from Clayden and Webb (1994).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains phosphate retention attributes. Phosphate retention (P retention) is estimated as weighted averages for the upper part of the soil profile from 0-0.2 m depth, and expressed as a percentage. The classes are described more fully in Blakemore et al. (1987) and Webb and Wilson (1995).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains potential rooting depth attributes. Potential rooting depth describes the minimum and maximum depths (in metres) to a layer that may impede root extension. Such a layer may be defined by penetration resistance, poor aeration or very low available water capacity. These classes are described more fully in Webb and Wilson (1995).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some of these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains rock outcrop and surface boulder attributes which are presented as the percentage of the area of the map units covered by rock outcrops or surface boulders. The classes originate from and are described more fully in Webb and Wilson (1995).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains attributes relating to soil drainage. Soil drainage is described as a class. Drainage classes are assessed using criteria of soil depth and duration of water tables inferred from soil colours and mottles. Drainage classes used here are the same as those used in the NZ Soil Classification (Hewitt 1993), and outlined by Milne et al. (1995).

The New Zealand Fundamental Soil Layer originates from a relational join of features from two databases: the New Zealand Land Resource Inventory (NZLRI), and the National Soils Database (NSD). The NZLRI is a national polygon database of physical land resource information, including a soil unit. Soil is one in an inventory of five physical factors (including rock, slope, erosion, and vegetation) delineated by physiographic polygons at approximately 1:50,000 scale. The NSD is a point database of soil physical, chemical, and mineralological characteristics for over 1500 soil profiles nationally. A relational join between the NZLRI dominant soil and derivative tables from the NSD was the means by which 14 important soil attributes were attached to the NZLRI polygons. Some if these attributes originate from exact matches with NSD records, while others derive from matches to similar soils or professional estimates. This layer contains topsoil gravel content attributes. The classes originate from and are described more fully in Webb and Wilson (1995).